Wars, climate change link explored in talk

Woman Against War honors peace activist Marcia Hopple

Marcia Hopple, who has protested U.S. militarism since the Iraq War, will be honored as the 2019 Woman of Peace at Women against War's annual event on Thursday, April 4, 2019.

Marcia Hopple, who has protested U.S. militarism since the Iraq War, will be honored as the 2019 Woman of Peace at Women against War's annual event on Thursday, April 4, 2019.

Photo: Courtesy Of Marcia Hopple

Photo: Courtesy Of Marcia Hopple

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Marcia Hopple, who has protested U.S. militarism since the Iraq War, will be honored as the 2019 Woman of Peace at Women against War's annual event on Thursday, April 4, 2019.

Marcia Hopple, who has protested U.S. militarism since the Iraq War, will be honored as the 2019 Woman of Peace at Women against War's annual event on Thursday, April 4, 2019.

Photo: Courtesy Of Marcia Hopple

Wars, climate change link explored in talk

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ALBANY - The U.S. has constantly been at war since the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Pat Hynes, environmental activist and public health expert, is convinced that militarism has made climate change worse.

"Oil is a factor in war. Oil is at the root of the climate crisis. Oil is also indispensable for war because of all the weapon systems," Hynes said. "Wars exacerbate and accelerate fossil fuels used and greenhouse gas emissions. They accelerate climate change."

Hynes, who directs the Traprock Center for Peace and Justice in western Massachusetts, will make her case in a talk "War and Warming: Can We Save the Planet without Taking on the Pentagon?" at the protest group Women Against War's annual gathering Thursday.

Women Against War's Annual Gathering

When: Thursday, April 4, 5:30 p.m.

Where: First Lutheran Church, 181 Western Ave., Albany

Details:

B​ring Savory or Sweet Finger Food to ShareSuggested Donation $10-25Parking lots off Western Ave and off Cortland PlaceRSVP to MaudPEaster@gmail.com

Local peace activist Marcia Hopple also will be honored as the 2019 Woman of Peace. The event will be held at First Lutheran Church, 181 Western Ave., Albany, at 5:30 p.m.

Hynes, 75, said she was raised during the Vietnam war, questioning whether it was possible to have a just war. She's researched the effects of using Agent Orange in Vietnam, the disproportionate damage of war on women and children and trauma endured by veterans. She retired a decade ago as a professor of public health at Boston University with a focus on urban environmental justice.

In recent years, Hynes has turned her attention to bringing together older peace activists and younger climate activists to link U.S. militarism and global climate change.

Hynes' research reported that at the outset of the Iraq War, the Army estimated it would need more than 40 million gallons of gasoline for three weeks of combat, more than the total quantity used by all Allied forces during WWI. The Iraq War generated more carbon dioxide equivalent in greenhouse gas emissions each year than 139 countries annually.

Both the manufacturing and upkeep of war machinery depletes fossil fuels, Hynes said. Rebuilding war-torn cities in the Middle East, where most buildings are made of cement, also exacerbates climate change, she added.

Hynes also said the U.S. defense budget robs funds from domestic renewable energy research and programs. She pointed out President Donald Trump's 2020 budget has proposed increasing military funding while cutting money to transportation, housing and education. The budget will still be debated by Congress.

While Hynes supported the controversial New Green Deal introduced by progressive Democrats, she criticized its premise that wouldn't reduce the defense budget to combat climate change.

As director of the Traprock Center for Peace and Justice, Hynes organizes social justice camps, publications and educational programs as well as protests. She encourages citizens to get involved by scrutinizing political candidates.

"I don't want to create hopelessness," Hynes said. "It's to reflect reality so that we do know and can figure out what to do."

Hopple, a 74-year-old retired college administrator, has been involved with Women Against War since it started at the onset of the Iraq War and helped organize an initial fast that involved more than 100 women for more than 100 days.

Since then, she's critiqued U.S. policy on Iran, staged protests to highlight war casualties, and met with elected representatives from both sides of the aisle to debate whether Congress has authorized U.S. involvement in wars around the world - most recently in Yemen. The U.S. government recently voted against military support for a bombing campaign led by Saudi Arabia against Yemeni rebels in a conflict that has killed tens of thousands and is starving millions.

Hopple encouraged citizens to engage with their elected representatives to not "give up too easy on diplomacy before ever considering militarism."

"It does feel like you're possibly making a difference. It's hard to get that feeling. Lots of people never see an opening for even how to begin to try to help," Hopple said. "It's good to have that opportunity and we hope other people will take it up as well."